Royal Ascot Ladies Day 2025 Tips: Illinois Heads Day 3 Selections

Our tipster looks through every race on the card at Royal Ascot on Ladies Day, with the Ascot Gold Cup taking centre stage on Thursday afternoon.

The champagne will be flowing from start to finish on Day 3 at Royal Ascot, with thousands of fillies flocking to the Berkshire track for Ladies Day 2025. The weather forecast is predicting a scorcher and hopefully the action on the track will live up to the hype.

I’m here to give my thoughts on all seven races on Thursday and it looks like another humdinger, with a host of competitive fields and lively horse racing betting markets expected throughout the afternoon.

Without further ado, it’s time to get stuck into my best bets on Ladies Day 2025. You can read a more detailed write-up for the NAP of the Day here and hopefully we can land a few winners!

2:30 Norfolk Stakes – Charles Darwin (WIN)

He’s short enough in the betting but CHARLES DARWIN looks a strong candidate to give Aidan O’Brien his fourth Norfolk Stakes winner and his form stacks up reasonably well, with Cardiff By The Sea – 3.5 lengths behind the selection at Naas – finishing fourth in the Group Two Queen Mary Stakes on Wednesday.

The winner, True Love, finished behind Group Two Coventry Stakes winner Gstaad earlier in the season, so there are some nice form lines in there. Charles Darwin has plenty in his favour, he has a nice draw in stall 15 and he just needs to go out there and get the job done.

3:05 King George V Stakes – Sing Us A Song (E/W)

19 runners go to post for the King George V Stakes and SING US A SONG is my tentative selection for what looks a competitive race. Ralph Beckett likes to target this race, with two victories in the last four renewals and Sing Us A Song will be primed for this.

Purchased by Wathnan Racing since a dominant success at Sandown in April, this Camelot colt runs off a 7lbs higher mark so will need to improve but the step up in trip to 1m4f should suit as he won’t lack for stamina, being a half-brother to the late Sir Erec.

3:40 Ribblesdale Stakes – Life Is Beautiful (E/W)

John & Thady Gosden have had winners on both Tuesday and Wednesday so far this week and LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL can emerge victorious in this Group Two on Ladies Day. It’s a stacked field but there is no real standout and she is worth a play at the prices.

Her form behind Falakeyah looks strong enough and the Owen Burrows-trained filly could be worth backing for the Group One Coronation Stakes on Friday if Life Is Beautiful franks the form here.

4:20 Ascot Gold Cup – Illinois (NAP)

I’m hoping to see a spectacular performance from ILLINOIS in the Ascot Gold Cup – he could be the next superstar stayer to come off the Ballydoyle conveyor belt. He is a worthy favourite on all known form and he will take some beating if he performs at his brilliant best.

There are several each way candidates in the field but none have the class of Illinois. If he stays the trip, which is perhaps the only negative I have over him, then he should prove the best of these.

5:00 Britannia Stakes – Fearnot (E/W)

Whacked by the handicapper for a facile victory over course and distance in May, FEARNOT really thrived in similar conditions and he looks to be on the right side of the track – with a slight draw bias evident throughout the early stages of the meeting.

You need a bit of luck in any race but even more so when lining up against 29 rivals but David Probert is an experienced jockey and he will try to conserve as much energy as possible for the business end. If he can cope with the 10lbs rise, he can be competitive for sure.

5:35 Hampton Court Stakes – Detain (WIN)

There is little to choose between Trinity College and DETAIN near the head of the market but I’m siding with the John & Thady Gosden runner, with the Juddmonte horse finishing narrowly ahead of Aidan O’Brien’s horse at Chantilly the last day.

They reoppose here with different jockeys on board; Ryan Moore is on Trinity College while Colin Keane is on Detain. The latter has been riding out of his skin recently and hopefully he can make the difference for my selection.

6:10 Buckingham Palace Stakes – Gleneagle Bay (E/W)

GLENEAGLE BAY ticks plenty of boxes for me in the Buckingham Palace Stakes and he can give trainer Stephen Thorne a winner on Ladies Day. He ran a lovely race over course and distance in May and he will be fully wound up for Thursday’s race.

There’s no doubt that he loves quick ground but the one negative is his draw in stall nine. Most of the market leaders are drawn high and that has been where most of the pace has been so far this week but he could be talented enough to cope with that off a mark of 95.

*Odds correct at time of writing – prices subject to change*